December 31, 2014

Home Remedies For Swine Flu

Way back in 2009-10, the swine flu pandemic had produced a real scare. The fear of contracting this respiratory illness had prompted many people to wear face masks and at that time it was quite common to bump into such masked people on the streets. (Do read Fashionable Flu masks) All sorts of preventive remedies were doing the rounds. For instance putting a few drops of eucalyptus (Nilgiri) oil on handkerchiefs and inhaling while in crowded places or taking Guduchi (Tinospora Cordifolia) / Amrutaballi herb tablets or preparing a decoction of one foot long branch of Guduchi / Giloy herb with 6-7 leaves of Holy Basil or Tulsi.

The epidemic wasn't as serious as originally predicted and in most cases reported it was really mild. Only a a small number of cases resulted in serious illness and death. Mostly this happened in people with weakened immune systems, in the elderly, very young below 5 years of age, pregnant women and in those with pre-existing health conditions such as HIV, asthma, cancer etc. Recently swine flu was in the news again when a 51 year old woman succumbed to it at Sir Ganga Ram hospital in Delhi. Few more cases were also reported. There is little chance of a full-blown pandemic in near future but still the extreme cold weather can make sorts of viruses to thrive and multiply. However do keep in mind that all kinds of viruses and bacteria can attack you when your immune system is weak and abundance of such microbes in the atmosphere can also weaken your immunity. So try and build your own defenses by strengthening your immune system and try and prevent diseases as far as possible. To prevent fever, influenza or swine flu try some of these remedies.

*Have citrus fruits like oranges, sweet lime, lemon etc Also if you can get fresh gooseberries (Amla) eat them or have their juice as they are extremely rich in with Vitamin C. If fresh Amla is not available, you can also make do with packaged Amla juice, preferably organic.

* If you have developed cold or sore throat, drink hot Turmeric milk (Haldi Doodh) at night. It's extremely effective. You can see the recipe for preparing this milk in this post.

* Do Pranayama regularly and go for morning /evening walks regularly in fresh air to keep your throat and lungs in good condition.

* Lastly, you must maintain good hand hygiene. Wash your hands frequently every day with soap and warm water for 15-20 seconds; especially before meals and each time you have touched a surface which could be contaminated with virus such as door knobs /handles, lifts or if you have the public transport. When water is not available at hand, you can rely on the alcohol-based hand sanitizers though they are not as as effective as soap and water.

If you have contracted swine flu, there is no need to panic. As mentioned earlier you will recover in a matter of 7-8 days provided you follow the doctor's advice carefully. However do remember the following points:

* Take your prescribed medications properly.

* Try and leave in a separate room to reduce exposure within your household.

* Cover your mouth and nose when you sneeze or cough. To avoid contaminating your hands, cough or sneeze into a tissue .

* Drink plenty of liquids. Avoid dehydration. Ideally you should pee every 2 hours and your urine should be white or pale yellow.

Method:
Take 4-5 cloves (Laung), 4-5 cloves of garlic, 3-4 small pippali and crush it in a mortar and pestle to a coarse powder. Take 1/2 a glass of water in vessel and heat it. Add the crushed powder to it and let it come to a boil. Then strain it in a glass, add 1/2 tsp of honey to it and have it preferably 3 times a day.

Method:
Add 2 tsp shredded onion, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 3-4 cloves (Laung) and 5-6 Tulsi leaves in a mortar and pestle and crush it well. Then in a vessel take a glass of water and heat it. Add the crushed mixture to it and let it come to a boil. Next strain it in a glass, add 1 tsp of honey and have it when it's sufficiently hot. Have it thrice a day, once in the morning after breakfast and in the afternoon after meals and after dinner at night.

2 comments:

The swine flu is just another mutation of the flu in general.. Drink fluids to keep yourself hydrated (it helps control your temperature to help with fevers), take fever reducers, keep yourself warm, and eat healthy.

Comments posted on this blog are moderated and approved only if they are relevant, on-topic and not abusive. Avoid using links to your site/blog in the body of your comment unless it is highly relevant to the post.